Budget Bluster

10

May

2012

By Jessie

YouPlayers, can I just say this. It’s a no-brainer that we here at YP HQ have made a non-core promise to all our members (especially the battlers, everyday working families, latte-sipping lefties and Chardonnay socialists) that going forward, we will increasingly push the envelope 110% and think outside the square to deliver our benchmark outcomes. Having said that, at this point in time, the jury is still out and there is no magic bullet.

There is a widely held assumption that most political rhetoric sounds something like this: “mwah wah mer…spin… wah wah… lies…mwah ah ahhh…snoo-oooo re…” But I disagree!

Listen closely to the surrounding media commentary and you’d be convinced that all this talk about ‘bottom-lines’ and ‘longer-term drivers’ wasn’t all about the economy. (“Oh Treasurer, your economic fundamentals are sooo strong; you’ve really got me excited about some tight fiscal discipline”…)

Although as someone who hasn’t achieved surplus since about 1985 I should probably stop the mockery and smarten up my pecuniary attitude, lest I end up allowing the private sector to mine my assets.

Sometimes, politics spews forth a phrase so impressive it achieves instant celebrity status within the surrounding vernacular. In fact a quick Google search reveals that as global citizens we are all united by Plato’s observation that “wise men speak because they have something to say, fools because they have to say something”.

Just a few examples – of which there are so so very many. In the 2003 Ontario general election, Canadian and PC Party member Ernie Eves outed rival Dalton McGuinty as an "evil reptilian kitten-eater from another planet." Former Columbian president Julio César Turbay Ayala once claimed "I'm not in favour nor against, but quite the opposite".

With startling prescience of mind, Hungary’s former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán philosophised “There were many of us but not enough of us” about a lost election. And who could forget our own Kevin Rudd’s BBQ-themed plea for a “fair shake of the sauce bottle’, causing a million Australians to reach for the nearest steak knife to hack their own ears off in embarrassment.

Comments please! Which political cliché makes you want to swerve into oncoming traffic?

Mother’s Day Competition Winners

Congratulations to the following winners in our Mother’s Day competition. I loved, loved reading your stories and memories, my arms got all goose-bumpy. To all our beautiful YP mums – have a wonderful day on Sunday.

PS: If you’re still stuck for a great Mother’s Day gift idea, have you thought about a Lovatts Puzzles magazine subscription? I recommend the 6 month BIG Crosswords sub – great value for hours of entertainment.

16 Responses to

Budget Bluster

said:

May 10, 2012 at 5:01 PM

well jess its that time again dont think anything will change how about we make the pollies live on a pension for a month see what happenes than

I agree noonee, I'm on a DSP and it's nigh on impossible to make ends meet. There's not much left after food, utilities, petrol etc but having said that I do have a roof that I own over my head. The Pollies should have been the one's to live on $2 a day in a recent campaign.
Re pollie bloopers - I recall George W Bush saying "most of our imports come from overseas"!! These are the people running our world, heaven save us.

Yes, the pensioners missed again. I don't know how the pollies can justify the amounts they receive (can't say earn), they must have fantastic bank accounts or investments. They just wouldn't be able to survive on our money, but how I would love to see them really try.

I will never understand WHY the pollies are paid so very high. Even when they retire they still receive a fantastic amount of money. it really seems unfair, there are so many struggling families in our country & they keep bringing more into the country, it is hard to understand. They have no idea how the other half lives, they could not manage on the pension.

"At the end of the day" blah blah blah... And yet, having lived in both the USA and Australia, it's important for me to say that Australia does make an effort to take care of her vulnerable people in a way that people in the USA only dream about.
A few years ago I took a test and, despite living on the edge, due to having a roof over my head and a refrigerator with food in it, owning a computer with internet access ~ I am in the top 15% of wealthy people in the world.
I am grateful for what we are given.

I always thought that the harder you work you would get the rewards. So how come by working hard every week to earn money and we are comfortable but not rich we see politicians of all parties acting like naughty school kids doing nothing but blaming everyone but themselves for their shortcomings, and earning megabucks compared to "main stream Aussies" Why can't we get the politicians we deserve!

What I don't understand is how Julia Gillard always says she acts in the best interests of all Australians. That is so untrue. Since when does she ever listen to ordinary Aussies or even have a referendum?